Barry Keoghan has heard the criticism surrounding his parenting — and he’s got something to say.
For those who don’t know, prior to blowing up in Hollywood for his role in Saltburn, the Irish actor led a more domesticated life. He had a steady girlfriend in ex Alyson Kierans, and the two even welcomed son Brando together in 2022. But they broke up in 2023, and Barry has since gone on to become a more known name — partially because he shacked up with Sabrina Carpenter, one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now! But because of how things worked out, his parenting status has faced a good deal of criticism with fans accusing him of being an “absent father” and a “deadbeat dad.” But he wholeheartedly rejects those labels!
In an interview on The Louis Theroux Podcast which dropped on Tuesday, the 32-year-old got candid about the accusations he battles as a father:
“There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Of course, [his childhood is] going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from. People just read that [as] laziness and go, ‘Oh, that’s no excuse to be an absent father.’ I’m not an absent father.”
The comment about Brando’s childhood was seemingly in reference to an interview Barry did at the premiere of his film Bird in September, where he told Entertainment Weekly that because he “didn’t have a father figure growing up,” his relationship with his own child “isn’t quite of the normal father-son relationship.” But that apparently wasn’t taken by fans how Barry intended it to be taken! He said on the podcast:
“But it’s just, again, people love to use my son as ammunition or whatever. And it kind of leads me to stop, the more attention I’ve [gotten] lately and the more in the public I’ve become, the less I’ve posted about my child, because I don’t think it’s fair to put my child online. And because I reigned that in, people draw a narrative and go, ‘Absent father, s**t, deadbeat dad,’ and more disgusting things I wouldn’t even repeat. Just the audacity of some people, man. It sickens me, makes me furious.”
That must be difficult to navigate!
The Batman actor noted that he tends to stay offline when he’s preparing for a role, but in his free time can’t help but scour the web for comments about him:
“When I’ve got a bit of time, I am a curious being like all of us, and you want to know what [people are saying online], especially when it’s slander and when it’s bad comments attacking my appearance or attacking me as a father. I’ve even blocked out certain words because I don’t want to read that. Stuff like my son — people don’t deserve to put that in a sentence, anything. I’m just trying to make a living, trying to get a good body of work and create safety for my child.”
Creating a safe environment for their child is what ANY parent should should strive to do — and for Barry, if that means keeping his son out of the spotlight, then that’s what he should do! You can listen to his full interview (below):
Thoughts, Perezcious readers?
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